PSE says up to PHP 48.36-B fundraising set for rest of 2024

The local bourse could see up to PHP 48.36 billion in fundraising activities for the remainder of the year, which could help boost market activity, according to the top official of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

“In terms of listing, our fund-raising pipeline at this time includes five follow-on offerings (FOOs), one stock rights offering (SRO), and one initial public offering (IPO), which will generate up to PHP 48.36 billion in capital,” PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon said in an e-mailed statement on Thursday.

According to the PSE, three of the five FOOs are expected to proceed in September, while the IPO, SRO, and the remaining two FOOs are tentatively scheduled for the fourth quarter.

 “We hope to see more active trading for the rest of the year on expectations of a rate cut and the record first-half earnings of banks and other listed firms,” Mr. Monzon said.

As of now, the PSE has completed three IPOs, reaching halfway to its target of six IPOs for the year. The completed IPOs include OceanaGold Philippines, Inc., Citicore Renewable Energy Corp., and NexGen Energy Corp.

For the second quarter, the PSE saw a 28% decline in its attributable net income to PHP 155.74 million from PHP 215.06 million last year.

Second-quarter revenue surged by 3.2% to PHP 369.4 million compared with PHP 357.8 million in 2023.

For the first half, the PSE saw a 4.8% drop in its attributable net income to PHP 398.53 million from PHP 418.7 million in 2023.

Revenue fell by 2.3% to PHP 722.75 million due to a 10.7% drop in average trading value during the semester, which reduced income from service fees by P6.2 million and transaction fees by PHP 9.07 million.

Listing-related revenues grew by 0.2% as listing fees surged by 0.2% to PHP 290.98 million. Other income rose by 20% to PHP 161.98 million due to interest income and foreign exchange translation gains.

Total expenses increased by 9.4% to PHP 416.13 million from PHP 380.5 million.

During the first half, the PSE saw two IPOs, three FOOs, one SRO, and three private placements.

“Persistent high interest rates and geopolitical concerns contributed to tepid trading in the first half,” Mr. Monzon said.

“PSE continues to pursue projects that will sustain the company’s growth over the years. This includes the planned acquisition of the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp., which we target to complete in the next few months,” he added.

On Thursday, PSE shares rose by 2.27% or PHP 4 to PHP 180 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave